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Retired officers reach out to colleagues Gloria Beverage
When
a police officer is killed in the line of duty, he is often hailed as a hero who “paid the ultimate price.” Dr.
John M. Violanti, a researcher and a 23-year veteran of the New York State police, pointed out in a recent article that approximately
140 officers nationwide committed suicide in 2008. The number may actually be higher since many suicides go unreported, especially
if the officer is on active duty. Now
an associate professor at the University of Buffalo, New York, Violanti has conducted a number of studies on the impact of
stress on police officers’ physical and mental health. He
has concluded “police officers continue to experience the ‘residual’ of trauma after separating from police
service. A study into the deaths of 4,000 police officers showed retired officers have an extraordinarily high suicide rate
– ten times that of the normal population and higher than that for active police officers.” Colfax
resident Randy Keenan, who retired from the Alameda Police Department in 2001, believes he has found a way to help officers
cope with the daily stress and inevitable trauma. During
his 29-year law enforcement career, Keenan said, he experienced “a lot of ups and downs.” He
remembers the exact date he was shot and his friend and fellow officer was killed. And he remembers the incident 10 years
later when he was forced to critically injure a man trying to ram another officer with a vehicle. When
he retired and left the Bay area – moving to Colfax in 2002 – Keenan sought out volunteer opportunities in an
effort to start anew. He joined Kiwanis and volunteered as a docent at the Towe Museum in Old Sacramento. But
a newspaper article about Badge for Life changed Keenan’s direction. He had found an organization that addressed a desperate
need – one he understood firsthand, he explained. Founded by Andy O’Hara, a 24-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol living in Citrus Heights, the non-profit, charitable organization is a group of retired and working officers, clinicians and researchers working together to ensure the “psychological survival” of law enforcement officers.
The
program provides law enforcement agencies with free educational resources and materials on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It also proposes training officers to deal with trauma head-on, before it happens, through annual, voluntary “mental
health checks” with counselors outside of the department. O’Hara
retired as a sergeant from the California Highway Patrol in March 1993. He said he formed the non-profit organization in January
2008 “as a result of my breakdown and near suicide.” During
his own recovery, O’Hara studied masses of research and books. He realized many programs had been developed to “train
the trainer.” And yet, he concluded, there was a simple solution that was being overlooked. Through
Badge of Life, retired officers like O’Hara and Keenan, who was recently named to the board of directors, have started
reaching out to law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada. At
the same time, O’Hara hopes that veteran officers would be open to getting regular mental health check-ups. A
proposal was recently submitted to Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner, O’Hara added. “We
peddle hope,” O’Hara said. “We are convinced that were enough academies and departments to initiate this
free program, police suicides could be reduced by 75 percent in 10 years and other employee ‘problems’ reduced
as well.” ----------
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